The buzz about prevention

Marianne Winters is a leader in the movement to end and address sexualized violence and is passionate about a vision of a movement that is inclusive, current, responsive and proactive. She is the Project Diva for Graphix for Change and consultant and trainer for Praxis for Change.

The 80's called... and while they don't want their prevention work back, they'd just like some credit for the wisdom.

Reflecting on Jane Doe Inc.'s (The Massachusetts Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence) series of capacity building gatherings on the prevention of sexual and domestic violence, I can't help but compare the conversations to those I was a part of in earlier days of the movement. Since 1984 I've been working in organizations, and now in partnership with organizations that are working toward an end to violence.

Then we had very little to go on except the burgeoning awareness within our communities. We also had lots of passion and we felt certain that if only we told enough people enough of the facts, if only survivors' stories were shared, then the awareness would motivate people to live violence-free lives and to join us in the fight. Now we have some tools, some research, and a theoretical framework that moves us beyond the awareness thing and into an actual model of prevention.

We're talking about changing individual behavior, improving relationships that support non-violence, changing laws and institutions, and changing society. Now there's language like social-ecological models, bystanders, community development. If you are working in an organization that is committed to prevention, it's definitely worth attending some of these trainings. They offer this framework and some language, and definitely some tools to use in your communities.

But, don't let yourself think that you're starting over. You see, we weren't wrong even back then. We in rape crisis centers, domestic violence programs, community based organizations and coaliitons have been workng out of this model for decades now, perhaps with different language, but we have been working on comprehensive prevention strategies for a long time. While we welcome the influx of interest, the modest increase in resources, the evaluation data that helps us know where best to put our efforts, we deserve to honor what we have been doing all along and welcome this as an opportunity to stabilize our work and generate and secure new collaborators and partners in the work. Most important, we must enjoy the process of building our vision. For by describing the world and imagining a time when no one ever becomes the victim of sexual or domestic violence, we are the bold and daring change makers that our world needs. What if we worked on prevention AS IF we really believed it could be done. This, would change everything.